Canvas & Maps

Overview

The canvas editor lets you create visual content — battle maps, interactive world maps, and freeform sketches. Canvas content lives inside entry tabs, so you can combine notes and maps in the same entry.

Canvas Types

When adding a canvas tab, choose from three types:

• Map — World maps and exploration. Best for interactive maps with pins linking to entries.
• Battle Board — Tactical combat grids. Best for encounter maps with tokens, fog of war, and measurement.
• Whiteboard — Freeform sketching and planning. Best for diagrams, brainstorming, and notes.

All three types share the same tools and capabilities — the type mainly helps organize your canvases. In search (Cmd+K) and @mentions, canvas tabs are grouped by type so you can quickly find the right one.

Toolbar

The floating toolbar at the bottom of the canvas is organized into groups separated by dividers. Related tools are combined into flyout groups — click the main button to activate the last-used tool in that group, or click the small chevron to open a dropdown and switch tools.

Drawing Tools (flyout group)

The draw tools flyout remembers the last tool you used. Keyboard shortcuts also update the flyout's active tool.

• Shape (R) — Click and drag to draw shapes. Options appear above the toolbar: rectangle, circle, triangle, diamond, line, polygon. Set fill color, stroke color, and stroke width.
• Draw (D) — Freehand drawing. Click and drag to sketch. Strokes appear live as you draw. Set pen color and width in the options bar.
• Polyline (J) — Click to place vertices one at a time. Double-click or right-click to finish the line.
• Connector (C) — Draw lines and arrows between elements. Hover over an element to see anchor points (dots at edges and center). Click-and-drag from one anchor to another, or click source then click target for precision. Right-click or Escape cancels a pending connector. Connectors follow their attached elements when moved. Toggle arrowheads at either end in the options bar.
• Measure (M) — Click and drag to measure distance. Configure the unit (feet, meters, squares, etc.) and scale (units per grid cell) in the options bar.
• Eraser (E) — Click an object to delete it.

Place Tools (flyout group)

• Pin (P) — Place a pin on the map. When the Pin tool is active, the toolbar shows an icon picker, color swatches with a custom color picker, and an optional entry link — all before you click. When you click the canvas, the pin appears immediately with those settings applied. After placement, select a pin to edit its icon, color, and entry link directly from the toolbar. Double-click a linked pin to open its entry; double-click an unlinked pin to search and link one. Pins are resizable and rotatable.
• Tile (L) — Place tile assets from the Assets panel. Opens the panel automatically. Select a tile, then click on the canvas to place it snapped to the grid.

Other Toolbar Controls

• Select (V) and Pan (H) — always visible at the left of the toolbar
• Undo/Redo — undo with Cmd+Z, redo with Cmd+Shift+Z, or use the toolbar buttons
• Text (T) — Click to place a text label. Double-click existing text to edit it.
• Zoom — dropdown with preset zoom levels and reset view
• Menu (hamburger) — opens a menu with grid controls, layers, assets, dice roller, fog of war, X-ray mode, export, background upload, background color, grid color, and fullscreen

Tool Options

When you select a tool that has options (Shape, Draw, Connector, Measure, Fog of War, Pin), or select an object (shapes, freehand, connectors, pins), an options bar appears in the toolbar showing controls specific to that tool or selection — shape type, colors, stroke width, arrow toggles, fog mode, pin icon/color/entry, etc.

After placing a shape, tile, pin, or text object, the canvas automatically switches back to the Select tool with the new object selected — so you can immediately drag it to the right position without switching tools manually. Tools that work in continuous strokes (Draw, Eraser, Fog of War, Polyline, Connector) stay active after use.

When you select existing objects with the Select tool, contextual options appear: stroke/fill/width for shapes and freehand, arrowhead toggles for connectors, and icon/color/entry for pins. Changes apply to all selected objects at once, so you can recolor multiple pins or shapes in one action. Color options are hidden for emoji pins since emoji have their own colors.

Selection & Transform

• Select objects by clicking them or dragging a selection rectangle
• Multi-select with Shift+click or marquee drag
• Move selected objects by dragging them (works for single and multi-select)
• Resize using the handles on the selection box corners and edges
• Rotate using the handle above the selection box
• Delete selected objects with Delete or Backspace
• Undo with Cmd+Z (or Ctrl+Z)
• Redo with Cmd+Shift+Z (or Ctrl+Shift+Z)

Undo and redo buttons are also available in the toolbar. The canvas remembers up to 50 operations. Panning and zooming don't count as operations, so you won't undo a zoom by accident.

Connector Lines

Connectors are lines (with optional arrowheads) that attach to elements and stay connected when those elements move.

1. Select the Connector tool (C)
2. Hover over an element — anchor points appear as small dots at the top, right, bottom, left, and center
3. Drag mode: Click an anchor and drag to another element's anchor, then release
4. Click-to-click mode: Click an anchor to set the source, move freely, then click another anchor to place the target. Right-click or press Escape to cancel

When you move a connected element, the connector follows. Deleting an element also deletes its connectors.

Use the options bar to toggle arrowheads at the start and/or end, and set stroke color and width.

Grid & Viewport

• Toggle grid visibility from the toolbar menu
• Switch between square and hex grids from the toolbar menu
• Snap to grid — enable from the toolbar menu to snap objects, shapes, text, polyline vertices, connector endpoints, and resize handles to the nearest grid cell. Works with both square and hex grids. When disabled, all placement is freeform.
• Grid color — open the toolbar menu and expand Grid Color to pick from preset swatches, enter a custom hex color, or reset to the theme default
• Zoom with the scroll wheel, or use the zoom dropdown in the toolbar
• Fullscreen — press F to toggle fullscreen mode, Esc to exit

Canvas Background Color

Pick a custom background color for any canvas from the toolbar menu. Open the menu (≡) and expand Background Color to choose from preset dark swatches, enter a custom hex color, or reset to the theme default. The background color is saved per-canvas and persists across sessions.

To set a default canvas background for your whole custom theme, open Settings → Appearance and edit a theme — the Canvas Background color is one of the pickers in the theme builder.

Interactive Maps

Upload a background image to create an interactive map:

1. Open the toolbar menu and click Upload Background
2. Upload an image (it becomes the canvas background)
3. Select the Pin tool (P) — the toolbar shows an icon picker, color swatches, and an optional entry link
4. Click the map to place the pin — it appears immediately with your chosen settings
5. Select a placed pin to change its icon, color, or entry link from the toolbar
6. Double-click a linked pin to open its entry in a floating panel
7. Double-click an unlinked pin to search and link an entry

To give a pin a visual identity, set an icon or emoji in the toolbar before placing (e.g. 🏰 for a castle, 🐉 for a dragon's lair). The icon appears inside the pin. You can also choose from the full Lucide icon library — Lucide icons can be tinted with custom colors. Color and icon persist between placements; the entry link clears after each pin so each pin can link somewhere different.

Layers

Open Layers from the toolbar menu to see the layer panel. The default layers are:

• Background — for background images and terrain
• Objects — for tokens, shapes, and other interactive elements
• Fog of War — for GM fog rectangles

Toggle layer visibility and lock layers to prevent accidental edits.

Assets

Open Assets from the toolbar menu, or click the Tile tool to open the asset picker — the same library used across the entire app. Browse by folder, search by name, or switch between space and global assets. Select an asset, then click the canvas to place tiles on the grid.

You can manage your full asset library from the Assets page.

Playing Cards

Place and manage card decks directly on the canvas for tabletop play.

Placing a Deck

Open the toolbar menu and click Place Deck to open the Deck Library. Choose Standard 52, Standard 54 (with Jokers), or Tarot for a quick start, or select a custom deck from the library. Click the canvas to place the deck — a shuffled draw pile and an empty discard pile appear side by side. You can also toggle jokers on or off from the deck editor for any standard deck.

Custom Decks

Build your own card decks from the Deck Library dialog:

1. Click Create Custom Deck in the Space Decks tab
2. Define custom suits with names, symbols, and colors
3. Add cards with names, suits, ranks, and optional face/back images from your asset library
4. Use Add Multiple to bulk-create cards, and drag to reorder

Custom decks are saved to your space and can be placed on any canvas. The Global Decks tab lets you browse shared decks and copy them to your space.

Drawing & Playing Cards

• Right-click a deck to draw cards: Draw 1, Draw 3, or Draw N
• Cards go to your hand bar at the bottom of the screen (private — only you see your cards)
• Double-click a hand card to play it face-up to the center of the canvas
• Right-click a hand card for options: play face up, play face down, discard, or discard entire hand

Card Interactions

• Right-click a card on the table to flip it, return it to your hand, or discard it
• Right-click a deck to peek at the top card, peek at top N, search the deck for a specific card, or shuffle
• Right-click a discard pile to browse its contents or draw cards back from it
• Show/Hide top card — right-click any stack to toggle whether the top card is visible face-up

GM X-ray Mode

Toggle X-ray from the toolbar menu to reveal all card faces (including face-down cards). This is a GM-only tool for managing the game.

Token Counters & Icons

Add counters, icons, and linked character data directly to any shape, image, tile, or pin on the canvas — perfect for tracking HP, conditions, and stats during play.

Adding Badges

1. Right-click any shape, image, tile, or pin on the canvas
2. Choose Token Settings… — a draggable panel opens next to the object
3. Under Counters, click Add to create a badge with a label (e.g. "HP"), value, optional max, color, and position
4. Under Icons, click Add to attach a Lucide icon — click the icon preview to open a searchable picker

Each object has 9 badge slots (a 3×3 grid around the object). One badge per slot, max 9 total.

Editing Counters

Click any counter badge directly on the canvas to open a quick +/− popover. Use Arrow Up/Arrow Down to adjust, or click the value to type a number directly.

Linking an Entry

Link a character entry to a token so its stats auto-update:

1. Open Token Settings… on the object
2. Under Linked Entry, click Link an entry and search for the character
3. Check the fields you want to display (e.g. HP, STR, AC) — they appear as auto-updating badges
4. When someone edits the character sheet, the token badges refresh automatically

Linked fields pull from Character Sheet blocks (stat, stat block, and resource types) and resolve formulas.

Editing Linked Fields

Click any linked field badge directly on the canvas to open a quick +/− popover — just like counters. Changes write back to the character sheet, so you can adjust HP or other stats without leaving the map.

• Use Arrow Up/Arrow Down to adjust, or click the value to type a number directly
• Resource fields (e.g. HP) show current/max — only the current value is editable, clamped to the max
• Formula-driven fields (e.g. a stat computed from other values) are not editable — their tooltip shows "(computed)"

Tooltips

Hover over any badge to see a styled tooltip showing the label and current value.

Saving a Token Config to an Entry

When a token is linked to an entry, you can save the full badge configuration (counters, icons, and dimensions) directly to that entry so it can be reused:

• In Token Settings, if the linked entry has no saved config, a Save to entry → button appears — click it to save the current setup to that entry
• If the entry already has a saved config, an Apply [Entry]'s saved config banner appears — click Apply to restore it to the canvas token (badge IDs are remapped; counter values reset to max)
• To configure an entry's default token config directly: open the entry, click … → Token settings… to set a default image, dimensions, and badge layout

Copy & Paste Token Config

Copy the badge setup from one token and paste it onto another — useful for applying the same counter layout to a group of enemies:

1. Right-click a token that has badges → Copy token config
2. Right-click any other image, tile, or pin → Paste token config

Paste replaces all existing badges on the target. The clipboard persists across scenes until you copy again. Paste token config is grayed out when the clipboard is empty.

You can also copy/paste using the copy and paste icon buttons in the Token Settings panel header.

Token Templates

Token templates let you save a badge configuration as a reusable preset for your space:

• Right-click a token with badges → Save as template…, enter a name
• Or, click the bookmark dropdown in the Token Settings panel header → Save current as template
• To apply a template: open the dropdown and click any template name — it replaces the current badges

Templates store counter and icon configurations only (not the token image). They are shared across all members of a space.

Double-click a template name in the dropdown to rename it; click × to delete it.

Dice Roller

Open Dice Roller from the toolbar menu (or press /) to open a side panel with quick-roll buttons for standard dice: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20.

• Click a die button to add it to your formula. Clicking the same die again increments the count (e.g., clicking d6 twice gives you "2d6")
• Use +/− buttons to add flat modifiers (e.g., "+3")
• Add a label in the text field (e.g., "Attack roll") — it appears alongside the result
• Click Roll to roll the dice

Results are sent to the space's chat so all players can see them, and also appear in a local history at the bottom of the panel. In guest mode (no account), results only appear in the local history.

In shared spaces, toggle Private roll to roll without others seeing the result in chat.

Export

Open the toolbar menu and click Export PNG to download the current canvas as a PNG image.

Scenes

Scenes let you prep multiple maps inside a single canvas and switch between them during play — no need to create separate entries for each location.

Creating Scenes

Open the toolbar menu and check Scenes under GM Tools to show the scenes panel on the right side. Click the + button to add a new scene. Each scene starts with a blank canvas and its own layers, grid, and fog.

Switching Scenes

Click a scene name in the panel to switch to it for editing. This only changes your view — players stay on whichever scene you've revealed to them.

Revealing to Players

Click the eye icon on a scene to make it visible to players. Only one scene can be live at a time. The active player scene shows a green LIVE badge. When you're editing a different scene than what players see, an indicator at the bottom of the panel shows which scene they're viewing.

Managing Scenes

Double-click a scene name to rename it. Use the ··· menu on each scene for Rename, Duplicate, Move up/down, and Delete. You can't delete the last remaining scene.

Fog of War

Draw fog rectangles to hide areas from players. Open the toolbar menu and select Fog of War — this switches to fog drawing mode. Options appear in the floating options bar: Draw/Erase mode toggle, Cover All, Reveal All, and a GM opacity slider to preview what players see. Press G for the keyboard shortcut.

Ping

Draw attention to a specific spot on the canvas with a ping — a pulsing ring that expands and fades out after about 1.5 seconds.

• Alt+Click anywhere on the canvas (works with any tool selected)
• Right-click empty canvas space and choose Ping here

In a shared space, other users will see your ping in real time. Pings also work in solo/guest mode.

Right-Click Context Menu

Right-clicking on empty canvas space opens a context menu with:

• Ping here — emit a ping at that location
• Select all — select all visible, unlocked objects

Right-clicking on a card or deck still opens the card-specific context menu.

Collaboration

When a canvas is in a shared space with edit permissions, real-time collaboration activates automatically. You'll see other users' cursors on the canvas as they work. Pings from other users appear as animated rings at their clicked location.

Keyboard Shortcuts